Previews

Half-Life 2: Episode Two

We see a tiny bit more of the next chapter in Gordon Freeman's epic struggle against the evil Combine.

Spiffy:

Seeing more of the Combine's inner workings is cool; great new visual enhancements like soft shadows.

Iffy:

Our expectations are now astronomical; it'll have a lot to live up to.

Valve Software didn't show off a whole lot of stuff for Half-Life 2: Episode Two at Leipzig, but we're so ravenous for any new tidbits on this game that we were still happy with the little we saw today. The demo we sat in on kicked off with Gordon and Alyx in his new ride driving through a forest. It's not long before they come upon a run-down farmhouse. As they stop to investigate, a weird tunnel-vision effect hits Gordon. This happens a few more times as Gordon and Alyx go further into the farmhouse. Inside they find the bodies of dead resistance fighters. They ultimately end up inside a room with a large metallic pod hanging in the corner. We're told that inside the pod is a Combine advisor.

Alyx walks up to a console and opens up an access port to the power supply for the advisor's pod. Gordon then uses his gravity gun to deactivate the power supply, and by doing so triggers a scripted event. The advisor, which looks like a large, bulbous larvae or maggot, comes out of its armored pod and telekinetically picks up Alyx, Gordon, and the body of a nearby resistance fighter. It then pulls the body of the dead resistance fighter close to its face and a disgusting translucent tentacle comes out of its mouth. It then sticks the tentacle into the dead body and appears to suck... something... out of it. Once done, it moves Gordon closer and we all know what's coming.

Luckily, Gordon had already done a good amount of damage to the pod when he disabled its power supply and just as the advisor's tentacle is about to suck the life out of him an explosion rocks the creature and Gordon is freed. Now that it's lodged from its protective pod the advisor hovers upward and pulls parts of the now-shattered rooftop to itself, forming a swirling shield of debris. After one final look at Gordon it flies off into the sky surrounded by its makeshift shield.

It's not long after the advisor flies off that a number of Combine soldiers bust into the room. Gordon and Alyx then have to fight their way out of the building. Once outside they encounter a Hunter, one of the new bad guys in HL2: Episode Two. Since we've seen these guys before we know what happens next: Gordon uses his gravity gun to pick up nearby objects to dispatch the Hunter with relative ease. Fortunately, there's only one of them, so the fight is over quickly. Just as we see a gunship off in the distance flying towards the fight, the demo ends.

Really, this sequence needs to be seen to fully appreciate it. Fortunately, we've got the entire video for you to watch at your leisure (that's it just above). Half-Life 2: Episode Two will be part of The Orange Box from Valve Software and is scheduled to come out October 9th.